1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print service system, and more particularly to a print service system for printing an image taken by a mobile telephone with a camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional print service system, there is such a type that attached data, which cannot necessarily be recognized by all mobile telephones or mobile devices, is printed using a nearest printer connected with a wide area network. A user may use a convenient printer such as one installed close to the user (for example, refer to JP 2002-041422 A).
According to JP 2002-041422 A, a mail server informs a mobile telephone of receipt of an electronic mail with attached data, and transmits the attached data and a user ID which are extracted from the electronic mail to a print server. The print server managing a plurality of printers includes a data storage unit for storing the received attached data and user ID, and a data storing and retrieving unit. When the user ID is inputted to one of the plurality of printers, the corresponding printer informs the printer server of the inputted user ID. The printer server retrieves attached data corresponding to the informed user ID, transfers it to the printer, and causes the printer to print the data. Note that, with respect to a user ID input method, in order to inform of a position even when a mobile telephone is on standby, a very weak radio wave including information related to a telephone number is normally transmitted from the mobile telephone to a base station. Thus, when the printer receives the transmitted radio wave, the telephone number is obtained as a user ID.
The conventional print service system disclosed in JP 2002-041422 A is constructed as described above. Thus, when an image taken by, for example, a mobile telephone with a camera is to be printed, it is required for a user to transmit to oneself a mail to which the image is attached, receive the body of the mail and a processing confirmation mail, and reply an attached-data necessity mail to a server. Therefore, there is a problem in that the number of exchange of information between the mobile telephone and the server is large, the minimum number of transmission from the mobile telephone is required to be two, thereby taking time and effort for a user. In addition, only when the user brings a mobile telephone having no battery exhaustion and storing the received mail and inputs a user ID, data of an image for which printing becomes possible by the above processing is transferred to a printer. Thus, when the mobile telephone is forgotten to bring or when the battery is exhausted, printing is impossible. In addition, printing simultaneously conducted by third parties located in remote locations or plural persons at completely different locations is impossible. As a result, there is a problem in that the system has few advantages and it is inconvenient. Further, when a method of receiving a very weak radio wave transmitted from the mobile telephone is used as a user ID input method, there is a problem in that a printer becomes expensive to manufacture.